NEWS RELEASE 04/29/03

Norwalk, CT, April 29, 2003—At its April 28 Board of Trustee Meeting, the Financial Accounting Foundation approved two appointments to the Financial Accounting Standards Board. Leslie F. Seidman, currently Managing Member, Leslie F. Seidman Consulting, LLC, and the former Vice President, Accounting Policy, at J.P. Morgan & Company where she worked from 1987 to 1996, was named to a three-year term as a member of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), effective July 1. Ms. Seidman will complete the term of John K. Wulff, who recently announced his resignation from the Board, effective June 30, to return to private industry. The Foundation also reappointed Gary S. Schieneman as a Board member. His new term will commence July 1.

Manuel H. Johnson, Chairman of the Financial Accounting Foundation, commented “The Foundation is fortunate to have recruited Leslie F. Seidman, whose impressive credentials in both accounting and industry, coupled with her previous employment at the FASB, should prove to be compelling assets to the Board. Leslie is well-respected in the accounting profession and, we are delighted to have someone of her caliber join the organization.”

Ms. Seidman, who is a CPA, formed her firm in 2000, and provides consulting services to global financial institutions and major corporations. Prior to her consulting practice, she served the FASB in various capacities in the mid-to-late 1990s, first as an Industry Fellow and briefly as a Project Manager and was later promoted to Assistant Director of Research, concentrating on industry issues. In that position, she managed the activities of a team of Practice Fellows sent to the FASB from various firms for two-year assignments.

Ms. Seidman started her career in accounting at Arthur Young in New York, after graduating from Colgate University with a B.A degree in English. She later earned an M.S. degree in Accounting from New York University.

In 2002, Ms. Seidman authored a book on accounting, Miller Financial Instruments, a manual for accountants and other professionals.

Mr. Schieneman, who completed the term of outgoing member Anthony Cope, joined the FASB in July 2001 from Merrill Lynch & Co. where he served as Director, Comparative Global Equity Analysis.

In commenting on Mr. Schieneman’s reappointment, Mr. Johnson said “Gary has brought a wealth of experience to the Board and has played an important role in bringing the analyst and investor community closer to the FASB. Gary was instrumental in developing the User Advisory Council, which is a first for the FASB. We are pleased to announce his reappointment.”

About the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the Financial Accounting Foundation

Since 1973, the FASB has been the designated organization in the private sector for establishing standards of financial accounting and reporting. Those standards govern the preparation of financial reports and are officially recognized as authoritative by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Such standards are essential to the efficient functioning of the economy because investors, creditors, auditors and others rely heavily on credible, transparent and comparable financial information.

The Financial Accounting Foundation is responsible for funding, overseeing and selecting the members of the FASB and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). For more information on the organizations it oversees, visit the Foundation’s websites at www.fasb.org and www.gasb.org.